Investigator says crash likely due to speeding

Alcohol and speeding were factors in Wednesday's traffic fatality at the World Golf Village, according to St. Johns County Sheriff's Office homicide investigator Donald Logan.

James Ryan Haggerty, 24, of St. Augustine, was pronounced dead at the scene after he lost control of his Toyota Supra heading north on a soft curve along South Legacy Trail in the World Golf Village, Logan said Thursday. His investigation showed that Haggerty struck the median and flipped twice.

Haggerty was partially ejected from the car when it overturned, and died from a severe head injury, Logan said.

Two other passengers were in the car during the crash. In the back seat was Jose Miguel Ortiz, 44, of Jacksonville and in the front, his wife, Helen Jeanette Montes, 36.

Ortiz and Montes were wearing seat belts and were not injured in the crash. Haggerty was not strapped in, Logan said.

"Alcohol was a factor in the crash," Logan said, but said he did not know how much Haggerty had consumed. The cause of the crash was probably excessive speed, Logan said.

"There were two passengers in the car who said he was speeding, he was showing off," Logan said. "It was kind of a souped-up car that he's got."

Logan said there were no hazards or sharp turns in the road. "It's a 35-mph zone, it's not what you would consider to be a dangerous road," he said.

Logan warned that wearing a seat belt saves lives. "Ninety percent of the time, if you're involved in a crash and you're wearing a seat belt, you'll survive it."